Continuing to Breathe
by fbiwoman223
Summary: A short oneshot.  Temperance receives a note and her life is changed.  Is it for the better or not? I would appreciate a few short minutes of your time to read and review! Chapter 3 is here!  :
1. Chapter 1

_Author's Note: _So, here it is. My first official fanfic! Please don't let that stop you from reading it. I would appreciate any honest reviews. Flamers will be ignored and sent voodoo curses. This is just a short oneshot. I just wanted to test the waters, if you will. Please let me know what you think!

Disclaimer: Seriously? If I owned them, they'd have already done something that they would regret by now. (Or would they regret it? ;D ) Anywho, not mine.

Now, on to the story!

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In.

Out.

In.

Out.

Inhale.

Exhale.

Inhale.

Inhale.

Inhale...

Temperance Brennan held her face in her hands, her eyes closed, her mind focused on the simple, yet suddenly laborious task of breathing. In. Out. In. Out. Hot water pounded her skull, then ran in rivulets down her body as it raced toward the drain.

_Temperance,_

"No," she thought, as she shifted her attention from her breathing to follow the droplets of water that ran down her shower wall.

_I never thought it would come to this. I never realized there would have to be a choice._

"Stop!" she commanded her mind. She pounded her fist against the tile and was only briefly surprised at the flash of pain that shot up her arm. "That's enough!" She yanked her shower pouf off of its hook and snapped the body wash bottle open so ferociously that the lid snapped in half, the jagged edge slicking through her finger. She held the afflicted digit up to her face to inspect the damage. It looked worse than it actually was.

Inhale. Exhale.

_I can't wait forever for you, Temperance. I wish I could be that romantic, but we both know that in this case, that's not me._

The words sprang into her head before she had the chance to think. She saw them in just as much detail now as she did when she first read them–in a note hastily scrawled on a piece of notebook paper and taped to her computer screen. The soap bottle slipped from her hands, its battered body spilling its contents down the drain. She tried to pick it up, but she couldn't move.

Inhale. Exhale.

_I'm a "tell-it-like-it-is" kind of guy, Bones. I laid all of my cards out on the table. I told you what I felt. Not just on the surface, but in my soul. And you hesitated._

"No, I didn't," she protested. "I didn't!" She turned to the shampoo bottle, trying to convince it, like it could offer her absolution. "I didn't hesitate!" No response from the shampoo bottle.

_You hesitated, and in that moment, I knew. What I was offering wasn't enough. The bad news, Temperance? It was all I had. All I am. And it wasn't enough._

"Please. Please stop," she whispered, pleading to the shampoo bottle. "I can't..."

_And when I walked away, you let me go. You let me walk out the door, get in my car and then you let me drive away. I thought you would call. You didn't._

"I wanted to! I tried to," Shaking herself, she quickly reached out and grabbed the shower knob and twisted it to the left, turning the water as hot as it could go. She needed to circumvent the numbness that was beginning to spread throughout her body. However, even the hottest water could not thwart the darkness settling into her bones, her muscles, her very being.

_I never thought there would be a choice. Maybe I did. Maybe I was too arrogant in thinking you would choose me. I have that tendency occasionally._

Temperance smiled through the tears that she desperately wanted to stop producing. But, she had encountered something she couldn't control. And so they came. She shut off the water. It couldn't do anything for her. She couldn't think of a thing that could.

_As corny and cliche as this sounds, don't come looking for me, Bones. I think you'll agree that this is the best solution, seeing as how you have a–how did you put it? – "indispensable skill." People like me? We're a dime a dozen, right?_

She grabbed her robe off of the rack and wrapped it around herself, hoping it would make the suddenly overwhelming pain stop.

_So, that's pretty much it. That's all I have. Logically, I know you'll understand. Emotionally, I can only hope. It's been a great ride, Temperance. A great ride indeed._

And that was it. The end of the note, the end of the relationship, a friendship and a partnership. And the end of something else that never even had the chance to start.

Right foot. Left foot.

Right foot. Left foot.

She found herself in her office, staring at the offending screen that once held the note that she didn't think would ever leave her head. She looked around her empty apartment. Gone were the pictures, the overnight bag in the closet, the small collection of inappropriate ties. He was gone. And she had to breathe.


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note:** Well, here it is. The second installment of my little story. This is actually the third version I wrote, and I think it's the best one, so I hope you all like it. I want to thank every single one of you who read the first part, and especially to those of you who reviewed! I definitely would not have written this part if it hadn't been for all of you!

**Disclaimer: **Like I said before, if I owned them, they'd be doing things that I don't think I'll ever be brave enough to write about... ;)

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Inhale. Exhale. Inhale. Exhale.

Temperance looked at the sheet of paper in her hand. Craning her neck, she peered out of her car window and compared the numbers on the house with the numbers on the paper. She needed to double check–just to be sure. Of course, that's what she had said the last seven times she had double checked, but who was counting?

It had taken her nearly five weeks to get this piece of paper. Five weeks of waiting for him to call. Of wearing a path in her living room carpet from all of the pacing. Of thinking about him nonstop. Of crying herself nearly every night and then trying to convince everyone that her eyes were red rimmed and swollen because of allergies.

She was pretty sure they knew better. She wasn't the best liar. And, it was pretty coincidental that her symptoms developed just after he had suddenly been transferred. _It's official,_ Temperance thought ruefully, _I need dumber friends._

Angela had known right away. Temperance didn't remember dialing the phone that night, but it had suddenly appeared in her hand and she could not put it down. After a couple of rings, she had heard her friend's voice on the other end. She had so much that she wanted to say, but only two words managed to squeeze past her tear clogged throat. "He's gone." Angela promised to be there in fifteen minutes. She made it in ten.

That night had been a long one. Many tears were shed, a few too many bottles of wine were opened, and she still shuddered when she thought of all the empty containers of chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream that she discovered in her trash can the following afternoon. Though she didn't believe in God, after that night she had sent up a little offering of thanks to who or whatever had put Angela on this earth.

After she got over the initial shock, she had tried to look for him, despite the request on his note. However, it was if he had disappeared. His place was empty, his phone was disconnected, and there was no forwarding address. He had vanished completely. Even his license plate had been discontinued. In her opinion, this was a bit extreme, but she could understand it. Whatever he set his mind to was accomplished completely and with passion, and this was no exception.

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!

Temperance was jolted out of her reverie by the shrill blaring of a car alarm. It took her a couple of seconds to realize that the deafening sound was coming from her own car! After fumbling with her keys for a couple of seconds, she was able to shut the alarm down. She glanced at the house she was parked across from and saw the curtains move. In a moment of panic, she threw herself to the side and laid flat on the seat. She counted to thirty before she slowly peered out of the window. All was still at the house. She sat up then, more than a little disgusted with herself, and tossed her keys on the passenger seat. The alarm had gone off because she had accidentally pressed the panic button, and she wasn't going to set herself up for that again. Sighing, she checked the numbers one more time. _Yep,_ she thought, _It's still the same house. _She stared at the piece of paper again, hoping it would give her the courage to go to the door. It didn't. She thought of being able to solve cases with him again, and that at least gave her enough strength to put her hand on the door handle.

Her thoughts drifted back to him. To her life without him in the past few weeks. Work had been a change. It was still fulfilling, but it wasn't the same. She hadn't had Thai in weeks. His number, even though it was no longer in service, was still number one in her speed dial. She had tried to delete it once, but her hands had shaken so badly that she had almost dropped the phone. So, there it stayed. They hadn't given her a new partner yet. One hadn't been offered and she hadn't requested one. And, aside from the hushed conversations Hodgins and Angela had been having lately, everything had been business as usual.

That was, until three days ago when Hodgins had come into her office and dropped a small piece of paper on her desk. Confused, she had looked up at him. Before she could say anything, he had leaned toward her, his voice soft, but firm. "Don't ask how I got this. The information on this paper is eyes only, and now that you have it, you can decide what to do with it. I'm officially out." He turned to go, then hesitated, and faced her again. "No disrespect, Dr. Brennan, but you castrated the guy. Do him a favor–give him his balls back, man." With that, he had headed out the door. She looked down and unfolded the slip of paper he had given her. On it were two lines, spaced directly in the center of the paper.

519 Summer Circle

Spring Lake, Michigan

Inhale. Exhale. Inhale. Exhale.

So, here she was. In Spring Lake, Michigan. Sitting across the street from 519 Summer Circle. She knew this was the place. She had double checked. It was a beautiful neighborhood. A very quiet community. Much different from their fast paced, hectic world in Washington. Kids ran up and down the street, playing with their dogs. Sprinklers watered very well manicured lawns. The house at 519 Summer Circle was no exception. Well, except for the kids and the dogs.

She took another deep breath. Everything she wanted was in that house, and she didn't even have the nerve to open the car door. She thought of him again. His laugh. His ties. The way his eyes crinkled at the corners when he smiled at her. His smile. Her breath hitched. His smile. That was the one thing that she couldn't live without. She needed that smile. Suddenly, she flung the car door open and stepped outside. _This is ridiculous!_ she thought. _Why am I sitting here alone remembering the past when I could be in there with him making memories for the future? _With that mind set, she marched across the street, up the short cobblestone walk, and to the front door. She took a deep breath, and with only a little bit of hesitation, she stepped forward and rang the doorbell.

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So, there it is! What did you think of it? Please hit that little button down there and let me know. I appreciate all reviews. Constructive criticism is welcome, but flames will be used to make s'mores. Mmm.


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's Note: **Well, here we are! Chapter 3! Wow! This is going to be a lot shorter than I originally intended. And no, it's not because I want to be mean, it's just that the last couple of days have been a bit more hectic than I thought they would be, and because I wanted to make sure I would have something to post, I kind of cut Chapter 3 in half. This is just the first part. The second part (which is now Chapter 4) is halfway done and I'll most likely have that posted by Sunday.

Once again, I would like to thank everyone for reading and reviewing! You guys are just the greatest and you all make my day! I would not be doing this without you! And I'm finding that I enjoy it, so thank you so much for the encouragement! Now, on to the story...

**Disclaimer: **One day, in the future, they will belong to me. Oh yes, they will. Until then, they're not mine. Please don't sue me. All you'll get is a lot of student loan debt, a Bones S1 DVD, and the money I've set aside to buy Season 2. So, there!

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Once, when she was a little girl, Temperance had done a very bad thing. She had been playing dress up and of course, she looked beautiful. Her hair was expertly done with the help of her mother's styling gel. Everyone who was anyone knew that the "stuck straight up" look was all the rage. The seventeen tons of makeup she had applied were painted on with the skill of a master artist. Her fingernails (and fingertips and knuckles) were painted a very stylish red, pink, blue and gold. And her shoes? Despite the fact that one was a cherry red heel and the other a light blue sneaker, and the fact that they were on the wrong feet, AND the fact that they were much too big, her shoes made the boldest statement about her: she had her own unique sense of style. Yet, as she stood in front of the mirror, something seemed to be missing. Temperance thought very hard, then it hit her! Every girl who wants to be at her most beautifulest needs a necklace! And she knew just the right one. Her mother had a pretty pearl necklace sitting on top of her dresser. She had said that it was an "in-hair-a-dance" from her Grandma Betty. Temperance had no idea what that was, or why hair would dance in the first place, but she knew her mom would let her wear it. So, she pushed a chair up to the dresser, stood on her tip toes, and snatched the pearls off of the dresser.

For a split second, everything had been fine. Then, she jumped off of the chair. As she came down, the pearls caught the knob of the top sliding drawer. The force of the drawer slamming open sent the whole dresser crashing to the ground. Temperance screamed as it landed just inches away from her, flinging broken bits of perfume bottles and sending earrings flying. She cried as she looked down at her hand. What had once been a beautiful pearl necklace was now just a couple of loose pearls. The rest of them had scattered around the room like marbles, and she could see a few shining back at her from the mess on the floor. And, as she stood there, clutching what remained of her mother's necklace, amid the ruins of the dresser, Temperance heard her father coming up the stairs and for the first time in her short life, experienced real terror. Her heart pounded, her eyes filled with tears, her chest constricted, and she felt like her throat was closing up. She was going to get it, she was going to get it good, and she was petrified.

As she stood there on Booth's doorstep, twenty-something years later, she felt that fear again. That all consuming, paralytic fear she had felt all those years ago, was back. Her breathing hitched and her watering eyes were glued to the window to her right, looking for any sign of movement. The increased adrenaline in her system made her hearing ultra sharp, and she bowed her head to the door, listening for footsteps. She heard none. There was no movement. Again, she stepped forward and rang the bell. And listened. And waited. And watched. And again, nothing. Not a footstep, not a rustle of the curtains, not a sneeze, a voice, or a television set. Absolutely nothing. She regarded the door with confusion. Why wasn't he answering? She knew he was there. Maybe he had seen her out the window after all and wanted nothing to do with her. Maybe he had been really serious, after all. Maybe, she swallowed hard, maybe he had found someone else. Maybe...

She turned on her heel and started down the walk, the fear replaced with one emotion and one emotion only: the overwhelming desire to get the hell out of there. It had been a mistake to come here. A terrible mistake. And one that she would make sure that she didn't make again.

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Yes, I know, it was short. Very short. At least I posted a little something, though. Right:) Please let me know what you think! As always, I will do my best to respond to each and every review in a timely manner. Flames will be sent back triple fold, because it's all ready hot enough where I am.


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